Catching Hell Impressions

I watched most of the ESPN documentary "Catching Hell" yesterday.  It recounted the events of the 2003 NLCS Game 6's 8th inning.  If you recall, this is when fan Steve Bartman interfered with Cubs' Left Fielder Moises Alou causing Alou to not catch a foul ball for an out.  At the time, the Cubs were leading the dastardly Florida Marlins 3-0 with 1 out in the 8th inning.  After the non-out, the Cubs went on to give up 8 runs to the Marlins before the Top of the 8th inning concluded.

"Doh!"

Most of you know all that.  As a huge Cubs fan, I was livid at the time.  I am certain I was angry at "that fan who interfered" and "caused the Cubs to lose."  Forget about sure-handed Shortstop Alex Gonzales who made an error just after the Bartman incident.  Most of the anger of Cub fans was directed at one of our own.  I know I myself said some things I'm not proud of (albeit in the comfort of my own home in California rather than at Wrigley hurling insults/beers at a stunned Bartman.)  8 years later, I'd like to think I have a better perspective on the whole situation.  At least, I hope I do.

Steve Bartman is not public enemy #1.  In fact, he's nowhere near the top of the list.  He's a fan that was accidentally thrust into an unfortunate situation.  Had the Cubs continued on and won that game, or Game 7, he'd be a footnote of history.  Instead, the Cubs were the ones that made Bartman infamous.

With no such thing as the Curse of the Goat (or Scapegoat), who is to blame?  Well, let's take a look at some other butt-holes that have not earned their share of historical ire.

- Moises Alou - But Prime!  How could you put him on the list!?  He was interfered with and would have caught the ball had Bartman not been there!  Nope.  That's not true.  You can see a whole host of moronic spectators diving at the ball.  Fans are not expected to be as mentally involved in the game as the players.  Hell, with Old Style vendors trolling the aisles all game, its a wonder no fan has fallen over the left field wall diving for a ball in play.  Moises gets on this list because he lost his cool.  He pounded his glove like a Little Leaguer who was told he can't have Frosty Boy after the game.  His death-look back to Bartman had a mental chain reaction on the rest of the Cubs team who, up until that point, were mentally cruising.  I contend that Alou's overreaction to not catching the foul ball caused the rest of the Cubs (including Mark Prior) to become overly aware of just how big the moment was.  The team freaked out, lost its cool, and ultimately, allowed the Marlins to score 8 runs before the inning was over (yes, I'm aware I've mentioned that fact more than once.  It still hurts.)

Also, what a fucking douche Alou is for admitting he bought a plane ticket to the Dominican after Game 6.  Nice mental toughness, asshole.

- Alex Gonzales - I already mentioned Gonzales above.  He led all NL Shortstops in fielding percentage in 2003.  Yet, he drops a simple ground ball that could've been a double play ball to end the inning.  If nothing else, he should've gotten a force out at third or second.

Gonzales made Baseball Mistake #1 by trying to throw the ball before he had fielded it.  I believe Alou's tantrum somewhat caused Gonzales' error.  Again, Gonzales was all too aware of how big that moment was and he freaked/choked/or whatever word you'd like to use.

- Mark Prior - One could make an argument that Mark Prior was the best pitcher in baseball in 2003 (maybe Jason Schmidt was, but Prior was filthy!)  For 7 and 1/3 innings, the Marlins couldn't touch Prior.  After Alou's tantrum, Prior began serving up pitches for the Marlins like he was a waiter at Harry Caray's restaurant.  This could very well be the moment was Prior's arm gave out for good as he never was the same again.  My #1 man-crush for many years and one of my favorite Cubs ever, I loved Prior.  I owned at least 4 jerseys of his.  Unfortunately, a lot of blame does go to him (or maybe my next candidate) for this historic loss.

- Dusty Baker - Ah, Dusty.  You were a victim of your own success in Chicago.  It is a bummer.  However, let's go back to your last year in San Francisco.  With 8 outs away from a World Series title, you pulled Russ Ortiz in favor of Felix "The Towel" Rodriguez.  (My Giants fan friends called him "The Towel" because they were throwing in the towel when Fe-Rod was put into the game.)

After that disastrous decision, you overcompensated the following year by leaving Prior in too long!!!  Hey, I get it, you rode Prior and Wood all season like they were your own private thoroughbreds.  They were going to break down at some point.  I guess it was to be expected.  It is just so unfortunate that it had to happen right then and there.

- Bernie Mac - Look, as a Cubs fan, I don't believe in any curse.  I do believe that mentally, there is a shit-ton of pressure on any player on the North-side to be part of the team that ultimately wins the Cubs' first World Series in over 100 years.  However, if we are going to get all Stevie Wonder, then Bartman still isn't the first person to blame.  Bernie Mac has more responsibility in this situation than any non-player.

You see, Bernie Mac sang the 7th Inning Stretch right before the Top of the 8th Inning Collapse.  While Mac was a Chicagoan, he was a fucking White Sox fan!  On top of that, he changed the line, "Root, root, root for the Cubbies" to "Root, root, root for the champs."  What are you doing, ass-clown!?!  You can't do that!  Sing the song the way it is supposed to be sung!  If I ever am famous or lucky enough to sing that song at Wrigley, I know exactly how to do it.  Don't change any line, and only scream, "Let's get some runs!" if the Cubs are losing at the time you sing it.  That's it.  Simple right?  Maybe if Mac was actually a Cub fan, he would've known.  Instead, he brought the ultimate jinx.  I remember immediately screaming, "What are you doing!?" right after he made that error.

Side note: I may have mentioned this before, but if you go back and watch the aforementioned Giants' 2002 collapse in Game 6 of the World Series, there is an ad for "The Bernie Mac Show" on the backstop.  I contend that Bernie Mac followed Dusty Baker around to jinx him specifically, rather than the Cubs or Giants.  I have a feeling that Bernie is still playing "ghost defense" on Dusty currently.

- The Marlins - Hey, remember the team that actually beat the New York Yankees in the 2003 World Series?  Remember when Josh Beckett was unhittable and Pudge Rodriguez was the most clutch hitting catch in the history of mankind?  Remember when Ugueth Urbina made out with everyone after winning games then attacked a guy with a flame thrower?  That's right, the Marlins were actually a pretty damn good team at the time.  Juan Pierre and Luis Castillo were on-base machines.  Mike Lowell and Jeff Conine were unstoppable.  Even Brad Penny and Carl Pavano was savages.  Everyone thinks the Cubs passively let these guys walk into the World Series and then apparently the Yankees just laid down.  I'm here to admit that yes, the Cubs had a chance to beat the Fish, but ultimately, the team from Florida with no actual fans was better than the Cubs that year.

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So there you go.  I hold no hard feelings toward Steve Bartman.  It was a bad situation.  Now, whether I "forgive" Bartman is irrelevant.  I wonder if he forgives Cub fans for what they did to him for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.